Union
by legaldiva
Summary: Incidents of all sorts involve the prey characters with a group of people with a history of their own. I'd tell you more but I'm terrible with summaries;)
1. Default Chapter

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Union

By: Stacey aka legaldiva

Summary: Incidents of all sorts involve the prey characters with a group of people with a history of their own. I'd tell you more but I'm terrible with summaries;)

Disclaimer: The Prey characters are NOT mine. They belong to ABC and those people that have let them sleep for so long... Neither is Chris. He belongs to CJ and was introduced in her story, Lineage. I just fleshed him out a bit. The rest of the characters are mine, and their back story is explored in The Partnership, Testemonial and The Ceremony, under this pen name at fictionpress.net. I tried to write the story in a way that bridged the gap between these two worlds, without compromising either. 

Thanks: To Andi, who couldn't wait to see this story even though she's not...yet a prey fan, and to Jen who knows both my characters and the prey ones and has held my hand all the way through the editing process. Thank you :D 

Chris Hewson stood on patrol in the darkness of the night. He let his mind wander, but it always came back to the same basic principle. He was in trouble. Different beyond all differences he'd ever considered before. The biological fact of his DNA separated him by 1.6 percent from the humans around him. But what isolated him from his own? 

His spirit, he decided. He'd made decisions on his own and now he was paying for it. For them. He'd refused to follow the path set out for him by the members of the body that ruled his kind. He wanted more than just espionage, a covert study of the lab that Dr. Ann Coulter ran at Whitney University. As a result, he allowed himself to be drawn in by this woman and what she could teach him. She freed his spirit and helped him to complete his doctorate. It was with her help that he ultimately decided that his kind and human kind could effectively, and should coexist.

Her murder had shocked him to his core, and in a moment of personal weakness, he took another step towards the horror that he perpetuated this evening. Throwing his studies aside, he joined the security force. Unlike the other members of the security team, Chris wasn't trained in the control that the _Chameleons, _ or their kind's covert operatives, learned. His mental skills were of a different sort... the kind that assisted the elite researchers and scientists of his kind. Not aided young would be spies in situations of physical stress. 

Consequently, and now, no surprise to him, he'd lost control. The act had come naturally to him at the time, but afterwards. Just thinking about it scared him. And as inevitable as the act itself was after the fact, so was the conclusion he'd come to standing there outside in the cold, analyzing things. Chris knew that there was no going back…inside that apartment or as a member of the security force. What would Dr. Coulter think, he wondered. He finally determined that he would finish that evening's patrol and inform Mark, the head of security, of his decision to leave.

Once the subject was closed in his mind, there were noises. Footsteps. He wondered why, who would be walking towards this apartment building at this time of night in this weather? But, he noted, it was a purposeful walk. It was a human female, 5'3 inches tall, by his estimation, with blonde hair that blew in the breeze. She also carried a large bag filled with books. He moved to intercept her. "May I help you," he asked once he reached her.

She shook her head, and he saw a friendly smile light up her face. "Nah," she replied in a very easy and relaxed tone. She had green eyes, he noted, and they widened as she gestured to the bag she carried. "I'm ok," she continued, her tone switching to one of explanation. She shook her head, almost sadly in his estimation. "Too many years of book carrying has taken it's toll."

He nodded, inspecting her again. She held the bag closely on the right shoulder, the left side of her body shifting upwards to compensate. From the look on her face, he could tell she was in pain and trying to hide it. He looked deeply into her, trying to sense as the rest of his kind did. And almost jumped back from the pain he was able to feel. "You might want to try switching shoulders," he suggested, his eyes sympathetic, as he grabbed the bag and attempted to adjust it.

The girl pulled back almost instantly, and he moved to compensate. He noted that if he didn't have the reflexes shared by the rest of his species, he would have been on his rear end by this point. And then, just as he'd felt her pain, he felt her suspicion. Not just in her mind but also in the way she held herself. It was as if she'd closed herself off from him physically. 

"I'm fine," she replied calmly, her voice betraying none of the anxiety that was clear to his senses. And then she swallowed. "What's going on?"

Chris grimaced, understanding how inevitable the question was from the way she felt, but not any more prepared on how to answer it. What to say, he wondered to himself. He sincerely hoped he'd be able to come up with something. "Friends of mine are having trouble," he finally answered.

The girl nodded and seemed to think for a minute, before mentally, then physically relaxing and smiling. Tentatively, he noted after a few minutes. "Do you want to come inside?" Her invitation confused him, and most likely his confusion was very clear on his face because she gestured to the fact that she was more comfortable in the chill of the evening and wearing considerably less clothing than his sweatshirt and many other layers. He watched her pull her hair back into a tight ponytail, a gesture that seemed both habitual and calming . "Its unusually cold for California," she continued, breaking the silence that had arisen between them. She shrugged her shoulders and he watched as she adjusted her turtleneck over her jeans. "'m fine because I'm from the east…but…"

He smiled, nodding, understanding. But not wanting to go back. "Nah," he replied with a shake of his head. He took care to keep his tone away from the mean or snobby, but firm. Firmly. "It's ok."

The girl raised her eyebrows and seemed to scan the area. "You sure?" And then, she smirked. Almost playful. Taunting. "I've got the best hot cocoa ever manufactured in the universe."

Chris looked at her, and felt...sorry at first glance. It seemed as if she was pleading at him. He opened his senses to her and felt uneasiness, mixed with compassion. .And then he understood. Friends, he had said, were having trouble, and she had spied him, standing alone on the grounds at the front of the apartment, looking somewhat confused. She was trying to, he deduced, extricate him from a bad situation. He smiled, then nodded . "If you insist…"

She nodded and he smiled, understanding. At the same time, they turned on their heels, towards the building. They took their first steps together and he watched her as she reached for her keys, muttering something about her propensity to loose them with eyes that glinted like they would when someone was being _self deprecating. _

He watched her economy of movement, fluid steps, heading for the staircase. They walked the stairs together, though stopping a floor below the apartment he'd sworn not to return to. He stood carefully waiting for her signal, watching as she pulled out the keys she'd thought she'd lost, directed them towards the locks on the door ...and then took a tumble.

He bent down immediately to try and see where she'd gone, also stretching out his senses to see ...to make sure. And then he saw her, and realized he'd been holding his breath when he'd let one out. He could tell she was scared though, and he braced himself to see what the problem was, waiting...

"OH MY GOD!" Her voice was scratchy with tears she'd barely tried to hold back. And he wondered where she was...and realized...she was inside. 

Now that he had her permission, he stepped into the apartment; looking for signs of forced entry. The first thing he noticed was that she had already gotten up and crossed the apartment heading somewhere he wasn't sure of. But it didn't matter at that moment. Aside from her rather quick motion, he discovered that the well built security system had been shattered beyond repair, including it's cover.

The rest of the apartment had a searched through quality…as if someone was looking for something specific. He killed himself internally for stepping beyond his bounds. He didn't have that training…the training that made a Chameleon so dangerous. He was only a researcher…

But then he saw her. She had forgotten her tears and methodically was searching through her apartment. Pulling out boxes and locked containers, muttering to herself as she checked their contents. And then a beeping…a faraway sound. He saw her take off her watch and undo many layers of ribbon. It revealed a bracelet with a black charm at its center. She pulled the charm off and unfolded it. "Hello," she said, moving it to her lips. "I'm ok", she said repeatedly as she put down the charm. She flicked a switch…and then her eyes passed through Chris.

"I'm fine, Uncle Walter." She...Sarah... said it without pause. Chris could tell that the young woman didn't want to make a larger deal out of things than already existed. He could sense that she was desperately attempting to hold back her nervousness, her fear and a whole bunch of emotions that were revealed completely to him. For his own part, he knew that she'd burst if she were pushed any further. "Really," she...Sarah, insisted, a look of studied indifference on her face. " I need to stay here and study… I have exams soon…"

A man Chris thought he recognized as Walter Atwood crossed the floor. He was tall, wearing a suit that barely hid his girth. From the way he walked and moved, and the feelings that Chris was able to sense from the man himself, he could tell that Atwood was used to being in control. "You're not ok, Sarah," the man interjected. Chris could sense a mix of authority and nervousness, and could tell from the look in Atwood's eyes that he felt responsibility for the young woman...Sarah. " Your apartment was broken into," he continued, half suggesting, half ordering. "I know someone upstairs. We'll go up there…"

"She's fine," Chris interrupted, stepping in only because he sensed that Sarah was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

The man shook his head, and Chris stepped back a few paces in shock. He then turned to Sarah and spoke in a deep, tight voice. "Sarah… This is not a request."

She shook her head, and Chris could sense sadness, resignation emanating from her. "Ok.." She turned to Chris, her hazel eyes catching his blue ones by surprise. "Come with me," she pleaded. 

Chris was fully aware of what was to happen if he was caught inside that apartment again. But at the same time, he could tell that for some reason he brought her calm, a sense of calm that she needed right now. At that point, he knew he couldn't deny her any measure of security, especially that one . Consigning the consequences to hell, he nodded. 

**

They closed the apartment door, and walked the stairs. Chris found himself held very closely to Sarah, Walter taking the lead. When they arrived, they all took a moment to breathe before Atwood banged on the door. "ED!" he shouted. "It's Walter. Open up."


	2. Two: Sarah

Her upstairs neighbor apparently knew the man who'd been a friend of her father's since their days training at Langley, as he answered the door almost immediately. Sarah smiled at him through her tears and he laughed. He was a tall man, with brown hair that fell where it wanted, and piercing eyes. He smiled back at her, of course, because he was a foot taller than she was, the distance was somewhat large. "Paper girl!" he noted, quite happily. 

Sarah shook her head. The most regular interactions she had with her neighbor were the early morning chats they had as they both went to get the morning paper. She found herself holding back a laugh as she pointed at her feet. "I didn't think you'd recognize me without my slippers." Her neighbor smiled and she was about to make some comment when she heard a familiar voice.

"Sarah's apartment was broken into," interjected her Uncle. Walter, just like her father, but controlling. Imperious. Commanding. "There's going to be trouble," he pronounced in a voice that sounded to Sarah like it would have been better suited to announce the end of days.

"A simple break in?" Her neighbor raised his eyebrows, his expression turned to one of unease, disbelief. 

But it wasn't simple, she thought to herself. Nothing was ever simple when it came to her. The tears came again and rather than stand there and sob she found herself screaming. "It isn't simple," she began, in spite of herself and without control. "I was broken into," she continued, cutting herself off before she explained how it wasn't anybody else so they would have no clue why a break in wasn't simple. "The alarm…" she began, intending to explain how high tech the alarm system was...that it was designed.." And then she just lost it. Completely. And she let herself. She saw the hands of the guy who reminded her of him...but she wouldn't succumb to his touch...wouldn't succumb to the illusion of the man who was across the country from where she stood. When she needed him the most. She shook her head and stepped away, crossing her arms. "Nothing is ever simple with me," she made out.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand on the small of her back, as someone who seemed like her uncle ushered her inside. She glanced behind and the blonde illusion, who'd not questioned her odd dependence on him followed a few steps behind. She stole a glance at her neighbor and at the illusion as her neighbor closed the door. 

**

They'd stood there waiting, wondering, including Sarah who knew what was going to happen once her uncle judged that everybody had calmed down. And once they did, she heard him clear his throat. "Sarah's father is CIA," he began, in a tone that Sarah judged sounded more appropriate for a classroom lecture. " Her uncle is a Navy SEAL working on a government project. Her friends from back home are involved in things so secret, not even I know about them." And then she caught a glance of him and a smile that oozed pride...though she wasn't sure what to make of it or wasn't sure where it came from. "Her too. "

"And the alarm?" interjected her neighbor, almost excited to be asking the question.

Sarah swallowed and composed herself enough to answer it. . "Was created by a technology firm that's consulted on several government projects, including work with the CIA, FBI, tons of biotech. She paused, looking at the rest of the assembled group. Judging their state of mind. When she figured they were ready to listen, she spoke again . "We're talking foolproof…."

Her neighbor gulped. "S&S?"

Sarah nodded, full of pride for the fact that he'd recognized the name of the company. Missing one of the partners. "That's them." She listened to what her uncle had said but somehow found herself fighting some internal battle...scared of nothing but everything at the same time. And then she realized why. She was scared out of her mind because someone had broken into her apartment and tore up the security device that was painstakingly put together by .... "Whoever busted that alarm is someone that scares me," she burst out, not caring who heard her. "And I don't scare easily."

All of a sudden, a taller woman with long chestnut hair walked into the room "What's going on." Sarah looked up into her face, and saw nerves, fears that oddly seemed to echo her own. "Are you ok?" the woman asked, her emerald eyes filled with concern. 

The no she held at the tip of her tongue was held off by her uncle's voice. "We have a burglary downstairs," he began, all business and then pointed at her. " This young woman's apartment was broken into. They may be looking for us…or Tom…" 

Sarah shook her head. Exactly what had happened was crystal clear in her mind. The reasons, the actions and the logic. And nobody else seemed to understand it for what it was. And they didn't have a reason to understand . So how coulkd she explain? What could she say to make them understand? "No," she finally said, turning around to look at everybody who stood around her. "It was deliberate. Nobody is going to stand there and break that security system because they're looking for anybody other than me." She saw the reaction on the kind woman's face and smiled, recognizing it as the relief she often felt when she found out that one of her loved ones, her boyfriend in particular, **wasn't **involved. "They may want a Tom," she continued slowly, finding herself oddly scared beyond belief. And then nervous. Feeling her heart start to beat faster. It was her place they'd broken into...or someone had broken into. Not anybody else's but hers. They wanted her...or someone connected with her. "But my guess is," she continued, trying to keep her voice steady, "that we'd not be talking about the same person…." 

And then she lost it. Again. She tried to hold it in...but felt absolutely no luck as her world started to turn black. 


	3. Three: Chris

He watched Sarah's eyes close and moved instantly to catch her as she fainted. She put her faith in him and continued to draw comfort from his presence, making her welfare his responsibility. "We should get her downstairs," he proclaimed, speaking rapidly, drawing on his training, his knowledge. His expertise. Forgetting the people that stood around him. She was his only concern and he wasn't going to cause her any more stress. "I'll go with her," he continued. "Some others should go with me. She needs to wake up in familiar surroundings."

And then he felt the head of the security team's eyes on him. Baring down, almost hard enough to make him flinch. Mark Ward's mind invaded his senses and he didn't have the concentration to push back the sudden blow. "What?" came the question in a voice that sounded more like a growl.

And then he understood. Confusion from everybody including...her. Sloan Parker. The woman who'd been the victim when he'd lost control. He had to explain. Sarah's life depended on it. Resigned to his fate, and the time denied him when he'd been sent outside in the aftermath, Chris shook his head, his light hair covering his blue eyes. "I'm not who you think," he began, slowly. Thinking of every single word before it touched his tongue. Keeping his shields down so that the rest of the dominants...his species...knew he was being honest. "I was groomed by Ian Copeland…to be a researcher."

One of the humans, the one who owned the apartment, Ed Tate, seemed to shudder at the mention of the name. Chris was able to catch a blast of sadness, confusion and vulnerability from that human male, so much of it that he had a hard time staying on his feet. He watched as the woman..Sloan...the reason he was speaking these words in the first place, walked towards Ed and put her arm around him, as if she were trying to protect him. He wasn't sure what hit him more.

Regardless of anything else, he had to continue, to finish what he'd started. He looked at Ed, in a way that he thought was sympathetic. Both of them had been betrayed in some way, most likely the same one, by Ian Copeland. "While he went to complete his plans," Chris continued, in a voice that hoped was audible. "I was sent by the council to inspect what Ann Coulter was doing… I'm a few credits short of a PhD…stopped studying because of Ann…"

As he felt the emotional walls breaking down, the tears ran down his cheeks before he could stop them. He shifted, still holding Sarah in his arms, more burdened by the pain of the loss he was finally allowing himself to feel than the weight of her body. 

And then there was curiosity, odd appreciation. Shock. He blinked his eyes and turned towards the source. The woman. Sloan. She was staring at him, barely able to keep her mouth closed. "The mysterious A…."

Chris forced his pride in what he'd written to the back of his mind, dubious that it was actually ...his paper that Dr. Coulter had given an A to. He tried to keep professional, detached. Well as detached as he could be considering how...terrible he must appear to look. "If the paper had anything to do with cultural patterns in Highland Scotland," he replied, swallowing, feeling the redness in his throat. "Then yes…it's me."

The head of the security team raised his eyebrows. Shocked. "But you…"

Chris nodded. Sure of himself. His position and where it really lay in this world. Her last gift to him, he mused. Once he'd heard that his doctoral thesis had gotten an A, telling the truth about himself was so much easier...but the words. He swallowed, tried to find the words to use to explain the emotion...the truth behind his actions. "But I fell in love with what she was doing and how she did it. The study and the information…as a researcher. I falsified my reports and began a true study of my own…towards a degree." He shook his head, remembering how difficult his initial decision had been, and how easy his life had become after that point. Finding his purpose was an epiphany that he'd never expected possible, and actually living it was a complete other. "I forgot for a while," he continued, half lost in a daze. "Went to Scotland…finished the paper. Faxed it…but heard nothing. I came back…" And then. The thoughts of what happened...what awaited him upon his return were just too much....

At that point, for the first time in the entire conversation, he felt understanding. Understanding and compassion. The room seemed aglow with it, more than his senses could handle. But it didn't make him feel any better...inside or out. The only thing that kept him going on this path of no return was Sarah. She seemed to be resting peacefully at this point, but he didn't want to take any chances. And so, for her sake, he swallowed his emotions, his pride and pushed ahead "Ann was murdered," he burst out in a voice that he felt every syllable of. Inevitability, the sense of loss and his complete inability to deal with it. It was mindblowing, even now, months, years later. "And I joined the security force…I don't have…control. They never thought I needed to learn it." He looked down at his feet, trying to keep his eyes from the piteous glances that everybody else in the room would most likely be giving him.

Once he'd regained the composure that he seemed to loose at every single twist and turn of his tale, he looked into the green eyes of the woman who needed to hear his speech the most. "I'm sorry," he made out, fighting the impulse to close his shields with everything he had. He needed to know if they believed him, understood him. Accepted him. "I.. know you probably won't forgive me …but…" 

He braced himself for the inevitable backlash, for the pain that he expected...but all he felt...sensed...was understanding. Sympathy. Chris held back a sigh of relief as he heard the chief of security voice his approval...acknowledgment that the narrative was factual, and not just painful. "It all makes sense."

**

Minutes later, he, Ed and Sloan headed downstairs to Sarah's apartment. Together they passed through the still broken door. He left Sloan and Ed to sit in the living room, while he headed back to put Sarah under the heavy down comforter in her bedroom. He sighed, relieved that she was still... sleeping. 

Once Sarah was in bed, he came back to see that Ed and Sloan had made themselves comfortable on one of the living room couches. He smiled and sat down on a chair located right in front of the window, not really caring about sitting in front of the television. He looked outside and saw the parking lot, the street outside and the distant lights of the library beyond .

As his eyes wandered, Chris tried to remember what he could do. And then he remembered. "She mentioned something about the best hot chocolate in the universe..."

All of a sudden there was a piercing scream. He jumped out of the chair, ran across the carpeted floor , into the hall and back into Sarah's bedroom.


	4. Four: Sarah

Somehow she'd gotten in bed. Somehow she'd traveled the distance between her neighbor's apartment and her own. It completely perplexed her. She could only scream in response.

The footsteps pounded through her apartment. She wasn't alone, she realized as she sat straight up in ...bed. As the ...well wishers entered into the bedroom, she looked up into the eyes of her next door neighbor. Confused. "I passed out…"

Her neighbor smiled good naturedly, and then nodded. "Yep," he replied softly. She saw his eyes darting around the room...the pictures, posters and other stuff that cluttered the walls and ceiling of this place she'd somehow made hers. When he turned back to her, he had a look on his face that could have been interpreted to mean many things, none of which involved approval. "Nice place…"

Sarah smiled in spite of herself as she caught sight of the illusion, the guy who was the spitting image of the one her heart missed the most. He was there, standing in the corner, the shadows. Watching her. But he didn't scare her...the expression on his face was too...familiar for her to be scared. It spoke volumes, most of which informed her that he'd most likely been the one to carry her downstairs, and that he stood back, not wanting to be too close, but at the same time, prepared to intervene if necessary. "Thanks," she replied, not to her neighbor's comment, but to him...the illusion.

As he nodded, she ran her hands through her hair and grimaced when she heard the unmistakable sound that could only be her stomach. Growling. She laughed, half heartedly, deciding that trying to hide the growl was just dumb. "Damm," she made out with a shake of her head. "I'm hungry. You guys want something?"

She watched her neighbor thinking out of the corner of her eye. For some reason, she wasn't surprised when she saw him turn towards the bedroom door. "Sloan…" he yelled, his face turned towards the direction of the living room. "You hungry?"

"Sure," came a muffled voice from the living room. In Sarah's estimation, the voice most likely belonged to _Sloan. _Whoever Sloan was.

At a quick nod from the illusion standing, as he stayed, in the shadows, Sarah attempted the daunting task of getting out of bed. She could feel his eyes on her, as she slowly stretched her muscles, testing them as she slowly got to her feet, and noticed a small smile light up his face once she'd managed being upright for a few minutes. 

Once she felt comfortable on her own two feet, she cracked her knuckles and smiled broadly herself. "Good," she pronounced, half talking about the fact she was standing unaided and didn't feel dizzy, half responding to the spoken and unspoken requests for food. "I'm famished." And then realized she felt dehydrated enough to down the contents of an ocean without coming up for air. Well, she chided herself, maybe an ocean was a bit too much; a huge glass of something wet would be a much better idea. " Drinks to start?" She turned to the illusion, simple gratitude coloring her features. She owed him. "Hot cocoa for you?" she suggested.

Sarah saw the illusion nod, understanding in his eyes. "Sure," he replied, his voice calm. Definitely very unlike him, she decided. Not just because the absence of bangs was noticeable when he nodded 

One down, she turned towards her neighbor as she stepped into her slippers. The puffy yellow ones with the attached bees. "Well neighbor?"

Her neighbor had a predictable grin on his face. She knew what he wanted before he opened his mouth to answer her. "I have a craving for mountain dew."

She chuckled as she left the bedroom, followed by both her neighbor and the illusion. "Classic, eh. Its hard to find out here…I have it shipped from back east…"

She couldn't help but miss the gleam in her neighbor's eye as the three of them walked to the living room. She also noticed the woman with the curly chestnut hair sitting comfortably on her couch. That, she deduced, was Sloan. Sarah smiled at the woman, and before she had a chance to introduce herself, there was a knock at the door. 

Sarah raised her eyebrows, somehow hoping that someone was expecting a pizza as she turned to answer it. 

The door opened and a young woman about Sarah's own age stood on the other side. She had short brown hair, green eyes, ramrod straight posture and an Air Force uniform. "We're in serious trouble," she burst out once she got a look at Sarah's face. And before Sarah could say anything, the young woman was looking over her shoulder. She braced herself for the inevitable. "Mitch? I thought you were on the other side of the country...and I gotta tell you Stewart, I hate the haircut." 

Sarah felt herself blushing furiously. "Cass," she made out. "This isn't..."

"Chris Hewson…PhD," came the voice of the illusion from behind her. She felt his hand cross through to shake Cass's.

Sarah saw Cass raise her eyebrows and braced herself. "Well," she replied as Sarah felt her stomach flip in about five different ways. "I'd really like to know what exactly you think it is..."

Sarah smirked. "I know you would, and trust me," she continued with a shake of her head as she gestured towards Cass to follow her into the apartment. "It's not as interesting an explanation as you'd think it would be."

She heard Cass laugh as the three of them headed back into the living room to join her other...guests. "Nothing," Cass remarked dryly. "Would be as interesting an explanation as I'd expect to hear from you..."

Sarah groaned as she gestured towards her neighbor and the woman sitting next to him. "Cass Schultz.," she began slowly, sure of herself. "I'd like you to meet ..." And then she paused, trying to remember the names that somehow had come into her head at some point during the day. "Ed and Sloan?" she ventured.

"Ed Tate, " her neighbor interjected, smiling. as he held out her hand. "This is my colleague...Sloan Parker."

Sarah nodded as she took his hand. "And I," she replied, "for those of you who don't know me, am Sarah Drake, your hostess for the afternoon." She grinned wickedly as she inspected everybody who sat around her. "Now who's hungry?"


	5. Five: Chris

Soon after, all of them were sitting at Sarah's dining table. Food was all over the place, and in spite of the situation, everybody ate hungrily. Chris was able to sense some sort of calm emanating from everybody as they ate. And then he felt Sarah. Inquiry. Curiosity. "So what," she began, "is the big deal, Cass. What's..."

The other girl, Cass, swallowed. "Well....I mean." She shrugged, taking a bite of the pizza in front of her. "It can't be that big...I'm just a lowly airforce chick, not an academy ..." 

Chris caught Sarah's glance with his own, raising his eyebrows. The stress that emanated from Cass almost knocked him to the ground. He was rewarded with a smile before Sarah turned to Cass herself. "And you're here...in uniform." She picked up her cup of tea, and he watched her. "Something's going on, " she finished, her voice filled with the ease of someone used to being in command.

At that moment, Ed Tate, the man who lived upstairs from Sarah, looked up from his plate, slowly, cautiously. Nervousness, fear, but not too strong, Chris noted with a degree of relief. "What's going on?" Ed asked.

For his own part, Chris wished he knew what Cass did. He felt her nerves hit him hard. It was big. He could tell, not just from what he sensed, but how she held herself. Too close to her chest, as if she was protecting someone or something. He watched her turn to Sarah, and the emotions he sensed from the two of them had him holding on to the table for dear life. "MACC 97 is under attack," Cass finally made out.

Fear beyond anything he'd sensed before had him screaming for relief, blocking anything and everything, massaging his temples, rubbing his eyes. Trying to clear himself. He pushed everybody, everything out. He knew not a thing about what MACC was but the fact of the matter was that it was something sensitive...something...

***

He slowly opened his eyes to find so many standing over him. He held up his hands, still rocked from the pain of the emotions, in a gesture that hopefully meant _stay away...give me space._

He saw Sarah move away, understanding but not at the same time. It just hurt...to sense anything. 

"What happened?" Sloan asked as she dabbed his forehead with a cloth that, in his opinion, was cold enough to freeze an ocean, but did nothing for the pain he felt inside. He wondered if there was a drug that could numb his senses...

But, as they still stood over him, he blinked his eyes and looked up at her. "Overwhelming blast of fear," he made out. He looked at Sarah. "What could be so..."  


"So why are you two so scared?" Sloan interjected on his behalf. 

"MACC," Cass began slowly, letting out a breath, and Chris rubbed his temples again from the sheer volume of emotion he was able to sense from the young woman, even though he was trying to block her. "Is a sorta secret organization, alligned with the military academies. The composition changes every year. The group that finished their term in 97..."

Chris watched nervously as Sarah bowed her head, her eyes glistening with what looked like tears. "Has tight connections with a large group of important people, including the president and the vice president, as well as an international reputation." She swallowed, and Chris had the distinct impression that she was holding back not only the tears, but also a great deal of information." 

When she'd finished speaking, she turned to Cass, and his suspicions were confirmed. "You were a part of the group," he mumured, as he tried even harder to block the furious and strong emotions that came his way. "And they have someone. Whoever they are is important."   


Cass nodded, pain in her eyes. He'd hit something, but he knew he had to push, in spite of it. They had to untangle this mess. "Yes, I was." Chris wasn't surprised when she paused, turning towards Sarah. "They have Carmen."

Ed gasped and turned towards the two young women, simultaneously hitting Chris with a wave of disbelief he wasn't prepared for. He swallowed as Ed began to speak. "Carmen...Santiago?" 

"The vice president's daughter Carmen Santiago..." Sloan Parker's disbelief was a bit more focused than Ed's had been, but it still pained Chris. He resolved to lock himself in some sort of an isolated room for at least a week after this was over. 

Sarah couldn't even begin to answer the questions when she saw Cass pick up her cell phone and start to talk. Despite the pain in his head, temples and all over his body, Chris found himself fighting the impulse to go over and put his arm around her. Of course when he opened his senses, trying to keep them focused on Sarah herself, he found assurance that if he tried, he'd be pushed away.

"What's going on???" Sarah asked, her eyes wide, filling with tears.

Her nerves screamed out to Chris, and he grimaced, rubbing his temples in agony. He raised his eyebrows, and then turned towards Cass as she hung up the phone. Onslaught wasn't enough to describe the fury, the fire of emotions that grabbed his senses and almost slammed him against a wall. Terror. Unease. Compassion. Confusion. Worry mixed with ....and then he swallowed. "They..."

"That was Dave, Sar," Cass began, interrupting Chris and the words he'd started to say. A wave of protection, protectiveness, compassion, worry. But this time, he didn't grab his temples. He was holding her hand instead, and Sarah smiled somehow at him. "They have Mike."

Sarah gasped and Chris felt her pushing him away, both physically and by the force of the immediacy in her emotions. She ran to the phone in the kitchen and picked it up. She sobbed, and he felt her pain...saw her tears. "Hello…oh my god…you have to get here… now. I don't care how you do it…I don't want to know…just get here…NOW. I love you too…" She swallowed, as she hung up the phone, attempting to fight back tears.


	6. Six: Sarah

Sarah'd seen Chris rubbing his temples, and watched open mouthed as he collapsed. So, she wasn't at all surprised when she'd heard him ask her for asprin. "Sure...," she replied brightly. "And I'll get you a glass of water too, ok?"

He nodded, and then shook his head. She saw, aside from the agony in his eyes, an insistence. "I'll go with you..."

She felt herself begin to argue, but he somehow shifted his expression into one she'd never been able to say no to. So, she sighed and stood up slowly. "The bathroom's this way," she explained as she started to walk, heading past the kitchen and the dining room table where everybody still sat, chatting amongst themselves. 

She didn't need to turn around to notice he'd followed her. She...felt his eyes on the back of her neck. And it didn't scare her. It also didn't surprise her when he glanced quickly into the bathroom with his left eye. "I need to talk to you."

She nodded and let him follow her into the bathroom, and shut the door behind him. She heard him clearing his throat as she opened the medicine cabinet with her right hand, pulling a paper cup from the dispenser on top of the sink with her left. 

"I can sense things," came the soft, low tones of his voice as she put the bottle of asprin down on top of the sink. "I..."

She raised her eyebrows and turned towards him. "As in psychic?"

He blushed and shook his head. And she wasn't sure how to deal with this...to take it. "It's not like that...I can't sense events but emotions....I can tell how people are feeling..."

"Empath then?"

She wasn't sure who was more embarrassed...but she knew the whole situation was strange, if not uncomfortable. For the both of them. She could see it in the way he held himself. And how it took him forever to figure out how to answer her. "It's genetic. I can't feel what others are feeling , or even understand it," he finally made out. "I just...get this wave of them. Like...now...you..."

She swallowed, gasped and turned back to the sink as she filled the paper cup with water, and then poured out two asprins from the large plastic bottle. 

"You're confused, and scared...and embarassed." He took a deep breath and she couldn't look him in the eyes. "But it's fine. I asked you to come in here so that I could explain...you needed to know."

She sniffed. "What did I need to know? And why the hell is everything that has to do with my life on a need to know basis." She shook her head vehemently and grabbed the paper cup and the asprin, passing them to him.

He grabbed the asprin with his left hand and swallowed them. "I didn't think it was fair that you didn't know I knew what was going on inside your head. You and Cass are the only ones who don't know...and I at least owed you my explanation." 

She nodded as he took the cup from her hand. "Is that all?"

He took a gulp from the cup and stared at her with eyes that looked like glass on the verge of breaking. "You'll take it the wrong way."

She gasped. "Ok," she made out through clenched teeth. "Now I have to know what you think...."

"I'm asking," he began slowly. "Because you're worried sick and you're feeling guilty. And you shouldn't be. Guilty that is."

"I'm stupid. I didn't think." She blinked and swallowed, grabbing a tissue from the top of the sink. "Cass told me about Mike and I lost it. Completely...and I made things worse by calling Mitch and...."

He sighed and she felt him take her hand in his. "Mike...your best friend, is in serious trouble, and you called Mitch...your boyfriend, to come and help him out of it?"

She raised her eyebrows and stepped back in shock. "Yeah...that's about the gist of it." She swallowed. "But you don't know Mitch..." she burst out, blinking her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying. "He's crazy..."

"And he's protective of you and your friends," Chris interjected, his voice calm. "If he's out here, with you, where you can see him, odds are he's not going to run off without telling you, or if he does..."

She smiled. "I'll be able to stop him, or at least follow him." She grabbed another tissue and dabbed at her eyes. "Thanks."   


He nodded, and she saw somewhat of a satisfied expression in his eyes. "No problem." He winked. "And I hopefully won't need any more of these..."

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "I can't believe you," she began as she opened the door. 

He shrugged his shoulders as she followed him out of the bathroom, noting that everybody else had moved to the couches in the living room and were busily watching a movie. They grabbed seats next to Cass and somehow settled down.   
**

Once the movie had ended, a knock at the door broke the silence that filled the room. "

"Who is it?" Sloan asked in a tone that Sarah would ordinarily have described as desperate .

But this was anything but ordinary as Sarah had practically leapt towards the door, words neither available nor necessary. She opened it and saw a vision, like what her wildest dreams would look like if they'd become real. Six foot tall, blonde hair and a mess of bangs that covered aquamarine eyes. It was practically magnetic, the pull of him that brought her right into his arms, her head on his shoulder. "My god…"

"You're ok, " her vision, the other half of her heart breathed as he pulled his hands through her hair. She could almost feel him grinning. "I'm fine," he began, answering her unasked question.

She took a deep breath, trying to find something to say to him that didn't come out in a jumbled mess. "God…I….you…" She looked up at him, stepping back, holding his hands in hers. "How did you get here so damm fast?"

He grinned, and she saw a flash in his eyes she knew she didn't want to have explained. "You really want to know the answer to that question?"

Sarah laughed. She should have known better. There were things, she decided, if not remembered, about Mitch Stewart, her boyfriend more years than she cared to think about, that she really didn't want to know. "Moment of weakness" she admitted, giggling. "I guess," she finally said as she placed her lips on his, kissing for the first time since their respective departures for graduate school. She reveled in it and then grinned impishly as she broke it. " I don't..."

She smiled as Mitch put a protective arm around her and lead her towards the group of couches that served as her living room, watching as he looked the apartment over. "Good Idea," he mused. 

"Well," Sarah grimaced as she caught Cass's glance...and heard the tone of her voice. "If it isn't Mitch Stewart," Cass began, as she gave Mitch a look that reminded Sarah of a very happy cat. "And why am I not surprised to see you barging in here at under an hour's time...all the way from Boston to LA..."

Mitch laughed, his aquamarine eyes dancing, and Sarah shook her head. "But you, Captain Catherine Schultz of the USAF," he replied in a tone that had Sarah want to laugh hysterically. "Already know the answer to that." 

Cass shook her head and shot Sarah a look she was glad she didn't understand. He stuck out his tongue in response which made Sarah burst out laughing as Mitch introduced himself to the people who'd spent the last few hours with her. 

She watched them all take stock of each other, and soon after, they all were relaxing and chatting. This, to Sarah, was just pure heaven in the oddest of moments. She was scared as all heck for Mike, but Mitch was there with her. He'd help her through anything. He'd done it before, and if nothing else, that's what she was counting on.... 

In the silence of the relaxed chatting, they heard the door burst open again. "We have to go…"

Sarah groaned at her uncle Walter's voice. Even more so as Mitch stood up, as she thought he would, to greet him. "Mitch Stewart, " he ventured in a voice that meant more business than politeness. But she noticed he had his hand out nontheless. 

And her Uncle Walter was neither stupid nor clueless. A CIA man would know Mitch's reputation for what it was. A brilliant scientist with an ego and physical prowess to boot. She relaxed somehow as her uncle shook her boyfriend's outstretched hand. "Good to finally meet the man behind the reputation." He paused and Sarah definitely didn't like the look she glanced on his face. " But we still have to leave…"

"I don't think so," said Mitch deliberately as his cell phone rang. He picked up the phone and Sarah wondered what was going on. He spoke rapidly and as she leaned towards him, he smiled devilishly. Something, she knew, was afoot. 

She saw her uncle stamp his foot in impatience as Mitch put his cell phone away. "We have to go…"

"People are coming," Mitch began. Sarah didnt have to see the look in his eyes to know it was there...the hard, aquamarine gaze that meant business "For all of us…"

Cass laughed softly, shook her head and then stuck it out the window from her seated position and shook his head, laughing softly. Sarah figured she had a feeling she knew what was going on as Ed caught Cass's glance and stared out as well. "Holy crap," Ed shouted, pointing.

Sarah smiled, putting her arms around Mitch. "You gotta love Dave's timing."


	7. Seven: Chris

Aside from the calm of the moment, only one thought rang in Chris's mind. _Who was Dave? _Familiarity from Sarah, her boyfriend Mitch, and Cass; shock from Ed and Sloan. Walter was dumbfounded. Who could...

And then the loud knock at the door. "Secret Service." It was a deep voice, ringing with authority. Confusion and normalcy. Excitement. Thrill. And Walter. So tense that Chris felt his head begin to pound despite the asprin induced relief.

"Oh Hell!" came a second new voice, as the door was pushed open. Chris could sense the odd mix of command, nerves and worry from the speaker. "Right," he boomed, his green eyes flashing. Relief and command came through this guy...familiarity from Mitch, Sarah and Cass. More shock from Ed and Sloan, overpowering shock and disbelief from Walter. Chris felt his head pound. "We have to get you guys out of here…" 

"Where were you thinking," he heard Walter ask, almost tentatively. Nervous. Chris reached up to rub his temples, trying to act, if not look, invisible. There was something about this guy that made Walter Atwood jump out of his skin, and Chris didn't want to take his chances. 

"The one building I can clear at a moment's notice." Chris watched the speaker take a step and move to take an appraising glance of everybody in the room. "What all of you are about to see," he began. Chris watched how easily this guy concealed his nerves, his worries, and his unfamiliarity with the one person in the entire room that he didn't know. "Is classified beyond the normal range of classification. Everything you learn must be kept confidential."

"What about your boss, Walter?" asked Ed, curious. Almost dubious. Chris knew he was wondering about what would happen when the mysterious woman none of them knew anything about, aside from the fact that she rode in limousines, found out what was going on.

"She has no idea," came the response. Chris rubbed his temples as the guy turned on Walter so fast, he could barely even see the motion. The fury, the anger, the threat behind the words were meant for Walter, but Chris couldn't help but shiver. "The less people that know about this the better." 

Chris could only watch in awe as Atwood nodded curtly. "Yes…sir… I understand."

Sarah's boyfriend laughed and shook his head in disbelief. The shock that emanated from both Ed and Sloan almost knocked Chris to the wall "Care to explain?" Mitch requested, relaxed as Cass and Sarah exchanged glances filled with amusement. They all, in their own way, wondered, as Chris himself did, exactly what Dave was going to say to answer the question. 

"Only you," the dark haired green eyed guy responded with a touch of amusement of his own. "Atwood's research was under a Jurisdiction my dad---President James Allen Forrester--- didn't necessarily pay attention to…it ended up on my desk." He swallowed. As did Chris. That Dave, were the words that came to his mind as all of the information started to fit together . Dave Forrester. He understood Cass's familiarity, as well as Sarah's. And Ed and Sloan's shock now made sense, though didn't pain him any less. "Anyway…we have to get you all out of here. "

"What about Tom?" asked Sloan, tense, wide eyed and full of fear, that, Chris noticed somewhat gratefully, had nothing to do with him. 

Tom Daniels. The man scared Chris because he didn't have reason to trust after...what he'd done. He was dangerous and devoted to Sloan, and from what he could tell, she was as devoted to him. "He's ready and waiting to go," Dave replied slowly, breaking into Chris's reverie. " We've apprised him of the situation and he's had some wonderful insight." Chris saw the absolute power and conviction Dave held as he turned to Sloan. "I have absolutely no intentions of harming him. I'd just as soon tear my own arm off…." 

Sarah swallowed, and Chris could feel the urgency in her...sense it. She couldn't stay any more. "When do we leave?"

"Now." One word. An order. Tight.

They all walked out of the apartment, slowly, one after the other. And all of a sudden, Chris felt an arm on his shoulder. "You're not going anywhere."

He raised his eyebrows. He wasn't surprised that Dave had taken the action he did, nor it's timing. Forrester had been suspicious of him all evening. "I..." he began.

Forrester cut him off with a curt shake of the head. Nerves were what he sensed. And anger. "Mr. Daniels told me about what had happened," he said, by way of introduction. Chris's mind ran through what he could say to keep himself there...involved. He had to be. To be there to protect... 

"Dave...." 

The voice and the presence rang through Chris's reverie, and his barely blocked senses. Sarah.

"Sarah." Dave Forrester's voice spoke the name at the same time he thought of her. "You..."

"He's kept me sane through this whole mess. He had every right to leave me by myself. I don't care what he did or what you heard he did." He was almost overwhelmed by the feelings of protection, of friendship that emanated from her. "He's my friend. And..."

He felt the indecision and ache in Dave, compounded by Sarah's want for protection, and plea. Finally, Chris sensed the tension die, and Dave nodded his head, surrendering. Despite something he sensed as Dave's better judgment. "He needs protection. And support." He smiled. "Dave Forrester."

Chris rubbed his temples once more, glanced at Sarah and smiled wanly. "Chris Hewson," he made out as he shook Dave's hand firmly. 

And then they left, heading downstairs to the fleet of waiting helicopters. Slowly, one after the other. 


	8. Eight: Chris

Hostility, fear and nerves rocked Chris's senses on the flight out of the tiny University town. East to a small landing strip, and then a transfer. To a 747 waiting nearby.

Immediately upon entering into sight of the large vehicle, Chris felt himself riding on waves of awe mixed with fear from almost everybody, except for four. Dave, comfortable yet possessive, but tense. Sarah, comfortable as well, but her comfort derived from love fulfilled at her side. Mitch. Relaxed, and in a calm state that even he couldn't comprehend. And Cass. Comfortable...and in control.

As the plane took off, he found himself sitting next to Cass, his stomach tight, his eyes shut. Willing himself...."You afraid to fly?"

He swallowed, remembering his own sense for the first time since he'd joined the group. Shocked that she somehow was able to...read him? "Not particularly used to it," he admitted.

He reached out to her and couldn't feel that odd tingling he remembered when he'd tried to sense another of his kind. So what...made her able to read his senses. He wasn't sure, but he felt a deep confidence emanate from her. A calm and ...a concern. "Don't worry," she replied, smiling as she patted the hand he'd forgotten was gripping the armrest. And then he sensed confidence. "One thing I do best," she continued, now grinning broadly. "Is fly."

He held back a gasp and raised his eyebrows. Not dubiously because he knew she was telling the truth. Shocked. 

She laughed, and he could tell the compassion hadn't left her. "Don't worry," she said softly. "I'm Airforce trained."

He swallowed, leaning back, trying to calm himself somehow. "So you've been training for a while then?"

She nodded, crossing her legs, staring out the window at a view he'd been told was beautiful, but would make him nauseous if he tried. Comfortable. He'd give anything to be as comfortable as she was in the air. "Yeah." She smiled and he could feel the pride in her voice. "You could say I was born and bred for it." 

"You mean," he replied. As lightly as he could. "The decision was made for you without regard to..."

She laughed. "Heck no..." She sighed, and the shock she concealed quite well was obvious to him. "I think it was more of the question of what could shock my parents the most. You know...parents wanted me to be a beauty queen. I wanted to be Tom Cruise...well no." She closed her eyes and he drew comfort from her smile. "I wanted to be Kelly McGillis...in the movie Top Gun....wanted to be her but I wanted to fly next to him too. Combine Anthony Edwards with Kelly McGillis and that would be me. But then I decided I wanted nothing to do with the navy, though." She continued, conspiratorially, somehow drawing a laugh out of him. "But if you tell Joe..."

He raised his eyebrows. "Joe?"

She laughed and he caught some...amusement from her. "Don't worry about it," she pointed out, laughing. "Joe Washington. An upstanding navy guy, and a friend. So you know..."

He found himself sighing...relieved. He shook his head and tried to block her. Tried to...

"You know," she interjected, her green eyes dancing. "You're cute when you're flustered." 

Teasing. He was a mess. He..."I..."

She laughed and he sensed amusement from her. The first thing he could sense without...falling. "You're more flustered than I thought you'd get. But," she sighed. "You're still cute."

**

He'd not known what to say for the rest of the trip, and the fact that he'd grabbed tighter to the arm rest made her think that it was, in fact, because of his flying fear. And not because of his anxiety about her. So, she chatted about different things...from her friends, from the year she'd spent as president of the Air Force Academy which brought her to meet her friends. Who needed her help. No matter how much it scared her that... "I could be next."

He felt her pain, more than he'd wanted to and took her hand. He held it once the plane landed, through the short trip to DC, as they walked into the large glass building and into the elevator. He saw her blink her eyes, blinking back tears. 

He smiled at her as they walked in to the conference room in the depths of the building, side by side, grabbing seats next to Sarah and Mitch. Sarah raised her eyebrows, but he sensed admiration, thanks and friendship. Mitch pulled his hands through his hair and Chris saw him smile in his own way. 

He was so wrapped up in the small little group he'd spent time with that he didn't notice Tom Daniels walk into the room and sit down at the foot of the table, as far as he could get from everybody else. But he sensed him, and held onto the table, trying to physically protect himself from the mental onslaught sent his way. 

It was the way his people did things, Chris noted wryly. Daniels, 5'10 with short hair, almost buzzed, a build developed by years of systematic and relentless physical and mental training did not want to make a scene. He wanted Chris to pay for what he'd done, but he wouldn't ...

Almost immediately, Chris felt the immense pressure on his senses lessen as a woman, most likely Sloan, joined Tom. His messages grew lighter in focus, and soon after, all Chris could feel were her pangs of concern. He turned to her and smiled. She nodded in return as she sat back in her chair. 

"I've brought you all together for two reasons," Dave Forrester began as he quickly raced into the room, Ed and Walter following him. He grimaced slightly as the two unseated members of their party found seats. When they'd settled, Forrester smiled and got right to the point. "Circumstances forced all of you together; and reality is going to help us get out of the situation we're in." He swallowed. All Chris could sense was control. Supreme control. And the light pressure of Cass's hand on his. "I'll be blunt. The burglary and various high risk hostage taking episodes were, in fact, masterminded by one person."

"Lewis." Tom Daniels said it, but Chris knew the reality of the situation as if it had been his deduction. Lewis. The man who trained the Chameleons, the covert operatives. Tom Daniels had been one of them, subject to the man's brutal training methods. And views of life. Before Daniels, like Chris, had switched sides. 

Dave nodded. "He's been keeping informed and has discovered that there are humans more dangerous to him than Ann Coulter ever was." Control it, Chris scolded himself. He blinked his eyes and looked up, catching a wan smile from Sloan. Coulter had been her mentor too. He nodded briefly at Cass's whispered question, and forced a breath somehow, feeling oddly comforted at her squeeze of the hand he'd forgotten she was still holding. 

"And who would that be?" Daniels' question cut deep. And then it occurred to Chris. Daniels had no idea what was going on. He didn't know who'd been taken by Lewis. Only that Lewis himself was involved in some plot, as was his wont. 

Dave sighed before continuing. "The Military Academy Coordinating Committee is an organization that up until two years ago was known more for what it didn't do than what it did. Two years ago, the group banded together to stop a terrorist attack, and simultaneously garnered themselves an international reputation." Forrester swallowed and Chris breathed deeply. "They also aligned themselves with some elements of society that already had an international reputation." 

Mitch smiled, somewhat confidently, and Chris felt the...ego he oozed. "Dave is politely referring to me." 

Across the table, Ed Tate raised his eyebrows. Dubious. "An international reputation?"

"He's dangerous," Cass said with a laugh. And then she swallowed. "God..."

Chris put his arm around her and she relaxed against him. "So the individuals that Lewis has..."

"The Vice President's daughter," Dave began, trying to hold back his emotions. But they were open and clear to Chris. Pain, fear. He wanted to say...to calm someone, that it wasn't their fault. But before he could get a word in edgewise, Dave started to speak again. "And...."

"My best friend," Sarah shouted, angrily. Chris lay back against the chair, trying to use something to buffet himself, his emotions, his senses. His fear. Trying to read her. Trying to block her. ".Dammit," she bit out. She was trying to be strong, but Chris could tell it wasn't working. She clenched her fists, and he felt Cass reach out to her. "I'm going after him...."

Mitch shook his head, pulling his bangs out of his face, meeting Sarah's emotional, barely controlled fire with ice. "I don't want you getting hurt," he made out, his voice clear. Chris felt his uncertainty, as if the words Mitch wasn't saying marked his speech more clearly than what he did . It was as if he'd clearly said he was going in. And then he felt nerves, fear. "I don't want you used to make me jump through hoops."

Anger. Ire. Fire. Chris hated what he'd felt from Sarah. As if she was...a possession rather than a person. And then there was something else. A familiarity. As if she and Mitch had played this argument over before. Done it more than once. Just this time, it seemed to have started on strange territory. "You're going to go in and do god knows what," Sarah shouted, only buoyed by the fear in Mitch's eyes. Chris felt it...how they couldn't help but go through this. Playing roles, walking through territory already marred by footsteps from previous incarnations. "You have a death wish…" Sarah proclaimed, her boldness attempting to hide fear that was clear to only Chris. She swallowed, trying to push her terror further inside of her, but didn't succeed in changing Chris's perspective. Sitting there, concerned, Cass's arm around him as he could only watch what went on in front of him. "Just don't go by yourself," she finally concluded, her resolve barely covering her fear. " DON'T make me go in after you to yank you out of whatever situation you may get yourself into…" 

In the silence that followed, Chris oddly found himself looking in Tom's direction. He sensed protection. Of Sloan, and comparing that with what Mitch and Sarah were discussing, going through. There wasn't even a pause as their eyes met briefly before Daniels turned towards Mitch. "I'll go with you," he said, solemnly. Chris could sense the truth..the depth behind the words. Doing it so that someone would not permit Sloane to make that kind of a journey unprotected in the future. "I know who we're dealing with and you know who we're bringing home." Logic. Clear. A protective oath 

Sloan let out a cry, and Chris rubbed his temples for the umpteenth time. "Tom…" A plea. She didn't want to see him face Lewis again. It was too soon, Chris figured...was somehow able to deduce. Chris turned towards her, and he saw her wipe away tears.

"It's the only way, Sloan," he said, calmly softly. Not betraying the fear, nerves, feelings of doubt he projected. Chris caught both and thanked Cass yet again for not asking him what troubled him so.

"Just be careful, everybody," he made out, calming his own fear in some way. And then realizing he was afraid


	9. Nine: Sarah

They'd gone. A briefing, a debriefing. A conversation. And then goodbye. It hurt. She didn't know where he was going, only knew he was leaving. But she didn't want to loose her mind in the conference room, in front of everybody. 

Step after step, she walked onto the balcony. The view was of Washington DC, but it was enough. The wind blew through her hair. And she swallowed, the wind in her hair. But she wanted to know what had happened. What had been said...

And then footsteps. A grin on his face. "So what did you tell him," she asked.

Chris shrugged, and Sarah smiled. She knew he wouldn't say, but she asked him nontheless. "Not much," he replied, grinning. And then he swallowed, making her wonder what he had on his mind...what he could see in hers. "What did you tell him?"

She sighed, pulling her arms inward. "I didn't...just." She pulled her hands through her hair and shrugged her shoulders. "The same old stuff. None of it helped though."

He raised his eyebrows, confused. Flushed. "Does it usually?"

She thought for a minute, reviewing the messy goodbye in her head. She tried to comfort but he saw through her and told her it would be alright. That everything would be fine. It didn't make her feel any better. She shook her head. "No. Makes me feel better." Then, she shrugged her shoulders and grimaced. "But then I end up sobbing." She reached her fingers up, trying to dry her eyes before the inevitable tears started to fall. 

He smirked and she watched him move towards her, confusion on his face. She wished she could read him as well as he read her. "By yourself?" he finally inquired, gesturing with his hand at the emptiness of the balcony. 

She nodded, stepping away from him. "Better to loose it like that," she answered thoughtfully. "By myself." She could see he understood what she would have said. A bit more than he wanted to let on, but it wasn't because she could read his emotions. His body language told her enough to make her giggle. "Speaking of loosing it...."

He laughed, interrupting her. "I'm surprised you noticed."

"Hard not to," she returned, winking at him. She shook her head at the look in his eye. Embarassed, as if it were strange to be so exposed. It looked like it had been a long time, if ever, since he'd felt so...openly. She smiled, somehow understanding "Haven't seen her," she emphasized, so that he didn't think it was his own giddyness that gave him away. "Like that. Ever." She looked around, and settled her eyes back on him once again. "Where is she?"

She giggled as he reddened. "Strategy conference," he made out.

She nodded briefly. "With Dave?"

He swallowed. "Yeah." And then looked at her with those eyes of his. Confused. Lost. "Should I be worried?"

Sarah laughed, her eyes dancing. "Hell no," she shot back. She rolled her eyes. "Otherwise my friend Sara would have his head." 

He nodded, smiling, rolling his shoulders back. "I see," he replied thoughtfully. " So now what?"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and pointed with her chin to the conference room. "We go back inside and we figure out what information we may need if something happens."

She watched Chris tense again. "Contingency plan?" he asked as he flexed his fingers.

Sarah nodded. "Probably what Dave is talking to Cass about." And then she softened. "Do you have any ideas? Like anything that ...." 

He swallowed, his eyes widening. "Allergies? Does he have any allergies."

Sarah gasped and reached for Chris's arm, grabbing it so that her left pinky was on his right wrist. And with him in tow, she headed for the conference room.

**

"PABA," she shouted breathlessly as she walked into the conference room. 

"Para-aminobenzoic acid?" asked her upstairs neighbor, a shocked smile on his face.. "That's the fundamental compound in suntan lotion…."

She smiled faintly at her neighbor, Ed, then nodded and turned to Chris. "That's what Mitch is allergic to...."

Chris nodded, understanding. "Lewis is going to try and exploit that," he began, his eyes reminding her of the way Mitch's got when he was lost in thought. ..." 

Her neighbor turned dark brown eyes on her, the expression on his face kind and gentle. "Decribe the reaction," he interjected. The expression on her face must have become one of complete disbelief, because her neighbor then smiled openly. "I'm a doctor," he explained as she sighed loudly. He grimaced, swallowing before continuing. "Maybe we can put together something that can soothe the symptoms…."

"While placing them in a protective covering for the arms…" 

"Its an internal reaction?" Sloan's nervous question interrupted Chris's statement, and Sarah could see the flash back down to earth he'd taken. 

She shot him an apologetic glance before turning back to Sloan. "Not external at all…" She swallowed, remembering the amount of time he'd take, bandaging his arms and hands and blinked her eyes. "He's always taken complete precaution and I've actually never seen the effects, but he's told me they're brutal…"

"In the extreme cases," Ed began thoughtfully, slowly, the allergy will practically immobilize the effected region, usually from the shoulders to the tips of his fingers…not locking joints but with pain. Excruciating pain.

Sarah sniffed as Chris moved to put his arm around her. "Enough to make him cry," she burst out.

Ed nodded, his eyes focusing far away from Sarah's face, or anyplace else she could see. "And from his reputation," he replied, sounding somewhat distracted, "it would take a lot of pain to make him cry." 

She waited a bit, lying against her friend's shoulder. And then she couldn't wait any longer. The silence, the impatience, was driving her mad. "Any ideas?" she asked.

Ed nodded and she saw him smile at Sloan, then turn his head to Chris. "Yep," he finally said. "We need workspace though…"

"Workspace?" asked a clear voice passing through. Sarah let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as Charlie Parker, Naval Rep and the current MACC tech chair smiled. "Follow me," he said. Without a word, Sloan, Ed and Chris and Sarah followed Charlie out of the room. 


	10. Ten: Chris

His back hurt and his fingers ached. He'd spent too much time bent over, working with Ed, Sloan and Charlie Parker on the design and production of the cure they'd needed. But the task he'd taken on helped him focus his mind and his energy. At least, he thought, focus them away from Cass. 

The focus he'd achieved also allowed him to steer his senses, so that he didn't sense the pain, the worry felt by everybody who was working alongside him. When he had to think clearly, like then, it was a distraction he didn't need. 

All of a sudden, there was nothing to touch, nothing to see below him. "Got it!" was the shout. He whirled quickly, faster than he'd moved before in mixed...human and dominant company. 

"What?" he asked although he knew what had happened. "Are we ready, Dr. Tate?" 

"The...cure...the ..." breathed Sarah from her perch on a lab table not far from where they worked. 

Ed smiled as he held up the gloves they'd spent who knows how many hours on. Chris could sense his pride in their work "Combined with this particular cloth which has been covered in a serum designed to null and cure the effects of PABA exposure…"

Sarah nodded, and Chris saw determination in her eyes. "Good. So we have them if we need them." But he didn't like the nerves he saw evidenced in Sloan's.

"They'll be ok," Sloan ventured. "Alright...I mean...."

Ed nodded, and Chris sensed a confidence that barely held back strong fear, concern. "Yeah. They'll be fine." He smirked, trying to catch Sarah's eye. "I pity the ....."

Chris didn't know why Ed had stopped talking but in the silence, the door to the lab they'd been in slid open. "Sir," he heard Charlie Parker say in a voice full of deference. "Is there a problem?"

Sloan and Sarah gasped at once, and Chris felt himself grabbing on to the table for support. Overwhelmed by the unleashed nerves and fear which combined and echoed his own, rocking him to the core. At the moment he felt he couldn't hold on anymore, he realized he could feel someone's breath on his neck. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but tell me you're ok...scratch that. I don't care what's wrong...I..."

He let out a sigh of relief he'd never understood before, her concern washing over him, and nodded against her. "I'm fine," he breathed. "Everybody's so tense and I..."

He felt her grip tighten around him, her muscles tense under him. Her concern increasing to the point where it hurt him, right above his ears. "You what?" she asked, her tone mired in inquiry and disbelief. "You..."

He blinked, tried to open his senses to her completely. Tried to figure if she'd understand. And decided he didn't care...she needed to know. "I sense it all...it effects me... the emotions...."

Confusion. "I don't understand..."

He somehow righted himself and grabbed her hands. "I'm one of them...the homo dominant...the new species." And then he let them go. "I'm human but not. Organic but..."

"Yeah," she replied dismissively, a bite in her voice. "I know my taxonomy."

She turned her attention away from him, towards Charlie, and Chris could sense the practiced command in movements, from within her. He sensed everybody else and how they calmed down, relaxed, almost instantly. "At ease officer," she bellowed before grinning. "If there was a reason to flip out, you'd have it."

Charlie nodded and turned back to the work bench. He, Chris noted, at least was calm. "Cass!" he called.

She turned back towards him and raised her eyebrows. "What do you want? I can't waste my time if you..."

Betrayal. It stung his senses and he pulled back. "I don't know how to deal with this," he managed. "I never cared about telling anybody. But now I do...that's why I ..."

"What? Waited this long? What the hell do you think of me?"

"It doesn't matter what I think." Chris stepped away, sensing the full painful brunt of her anger and choosing not to stand within her reach. "Because from this point on, no matter what I say, you'll try to tell me that I had a motive other than inexperience. That I was trying to mislead you. And..."

"Chris..."

"What?" he shot back. "Pity now?" The pain of her emotions stung his senses more than he was willing to admit. "Thanks. Really. I lay my guts..."

"Will you stop it!" Her voice was barely a growl but he could tell it hid a great deal of pain. "For someone who says he can sense emotions, you are completely stupid. Maybe you're lost or clueless. I'm not sure. But you're acting like a sanctimonious asshole who can't see past the edge of his own nose." 

He raised his eyebrows. "You have no right..."

"Never assume." She growled at him and before he could do anything, her lips were on his and he lost his mind. Groping at her hair, holding her for dear life. Minutes seemed like an eternity. She pulled back and smiled, breathless as he fought for control. "Now if you say another word I swear to god I'll shut you up."

He found it difficult to say anything, and so, this time, he did. Shut up.

She smiled, satisfaction in her motions, in her emotions. "I like you just the way you are. As long as you're mine, I don't care." And he, of course, didn't either.


	11. Eleven: Sarah

Things had calmed down, which was strange, considering the caliber of the outburst. But, Sarah decided, that was what love did for people. Or, rather, to them. She smiled at how Cass and Chris found their comfort in the midst of all the chaos, and how she looked over his shoulder as he continued to tweak the gloves.

She felt terrible, however, when she saw the pained look in Sloane's green eyes. She didn't have to be able to read people's emotions directly to know what was going through her head. She felt it too. "They'll be fine," she soothed as she walked over to the chestnut haired woman. "Trust me...I..."

The other woman raised her eyebrows and stepped away from the protective embrace of a friend. "Have you been through this before?"

Sarah smiled. "The painful waiting where you have no idea what's going on with your boyfriend and where you wonder who to worry about more...the man himself or the people who had the stupid idea to mess with him in the first place." Cass put her chin on Chris's shoulder and stifled a laugh as Sloane smiled softly. "More times than I want to count, much less remember."

Sloane nodded. "I guess you do know..."

"We have a situation on our hands." Sarah swallowed and gritted her teeth when she heard Dave's voice in that tone. 

"What's going on?" The question could have been spoken by everybody at the same time, and in Sarah's view, it most likely was. 

"Settle down," came Dave's voice, raised just enough over the cacophony that everybody could hear him. "As I said, we have a situation on our hands." Sarah watched as he closed his eyes, folded his arms and prepared to get down to business. "I just spoke with Carmen."

The voices of the people who knew her got louder. Everybody else just wanted to know the rest of what Dave had to say. "Settle down dammit," he ground out. Sarah grimaced as her Uncle Walter, usually happily in control, shifted uncomfortably in his position behind Dave. "We..."

"So," interjected Ed, calmly. "What is the situation?"

"If you let me finish," Dave answered, his tone ice, "you'd know by now." Sarah herself found it hard to keep from shivering. But she knew Dave well, something that most people didn't. Which is how she kept quiet and confident in the knowledge that he'd tell her as soon as he knew something. An action he was trying to take. "We've just finished watching a tape that's been sent of Carmen. She's fine. They...one of whom is confirmed as Lewis, have decided to use her as a spokesperson." 

Her heart jumped into her throat, at the idea that Carmen was being used as opposed to any other of the group that had been captured. "Why," she breathed, barely realizing she'd done it aloud.

Dave smiled and walked towards her, putting her arms around her like only the boyfriend of a very close friend, and a close friend in his own right could. "Because she's got the notoriety that everybody else has by reputation." He patted her shoulder and she somehow relaxed. Once he'd untangled himself from her, he walked back to the front of the room. "Now we've been able to pinpoint her location," he began once he'd settled himself back up there, though to Sarah it seemed like he'd never left. "And we've put together a contingency plan."

"This plan," began her Uncle, back again in his element. "Involves a small group of you flying to a remote mountainside base in the middle of the Sierra Madre del Sur Range..." 

Her upstairs neighbor raised his eyebrows. "Southern Mexico..."

Sarah watched Chris's face pale. "Is there any other way to get there," he managed. "I mean..." 

She stifled a laugh as Cass raised her eyebrows. "You don't trust my flying?" And almost died laughing as Chris locked his jaw. "I'm kidding scaredy cat...but no, I'm sorry. If you want to go, you gotta trust me."

"Cass," Chris made out as Sarah caught a wicked glance from him. "I trust you completely and you can't make this out to be anything other than my extreme paranoia about flying....because it really..."

"I know," she shot back, odlly calm from Sarah's point of view. But, she reasoned, Cass herself was trying to calm Chris, who was clearly more out of his element than anybody else, including her uncle. Who was shuffling from foot to foot, making her nervosa a bit small in comparison. She actually thought she'd heard a laugh from either her neighbor or Sloane. "For someone who senses emotions, you couldn't sense mine if you tried..."

Chris raised his eyebrows. "I don't have to try," he made out, somewhat, in Sarah's view, offended. "It just..."

"Yeah, yeah," Cass returned, dissmissively. "It happens. Well you're like two to zip on me so far." She tossed her head and glanced at Dave who shook his head. Sarah found it hard...not to find it all amusing. " You've missed the entire fact that there is absolutely no other way to get there. None. This place is inaccessible by any other way than a small landing strip about three quarters away from the base of the range. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get there any other way. And as much as I know you want to go...I can't make it any easier for you."

Sarah nodded, taking the pressure off everybody else. "So aside from me," she began, who else is going?"

"You're not going without me," Sloane interjected.

Sarah shrugged. "Stands to reason I guess." She then turned towards Dave. "Who else?"

He smiled and she relaxed as they fell into a pattern that made Sarah comfortable. "Well...we have Ed and Chris at base with..."

"And I'm flying." Cass swallowed. "That doesn't make sense...sending them in..."

Dave shrugged and met Sarah's eye. "A friend of mine is on his way..."

"You mean," Sarah interjected. "A friend of ours." She smiled because she understood. And in spite of everything, she was. This rescue mission would be interesting. 

  


  



	12. Twelve: Chris

Everybody was nervous. Filled with so much anticipation that Chris was in pain. He was constantly rubbing his temples and fielding off offers of asprin and massages from Cass, who was even more nervous than anybody else. This was grating on them all and he could do nothing to stop it.

He saw Sarah and Dave sitting in a corner somewhere, huddled over notes of some sort. Familiarity, planning, a sense of enforced calm covered their anxiety. He looked up at Cass, looked inside of her and looked up into her sapphire eyes. She wanted to be..."You can go," he said softly. "I'll be fine...."

She smirked and rubbed his cheeks with the outside of her thumbs; the heel of her hands supporting his chin. "I want to know what they're doing," she breathed . "But I'm only the pilot. They'll tell me when they're ready." 

He felt the regret in her, a regret that when pushed aside, revealed... Something he'd never thought to possess. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back tears. "Thank you," he swallowed.

He saw her appraise the look on his face. "So you finally discovered my big secret," she replied, grinning. "And yes. I do."

Pulling his senses in, he pushed his fear away and put his arms around her. "You realize what this means?" he asked, softly.

She raised her eyebrows, and shook her head. "Sorry buddy. I don't have your sixth sense...or whatever..."

"I wished I had your iron will," he replied with a laugh, planting a kiss on her neck. "Cause I'm going with you." 

"You are such an idiot," she growled, for a reason he was unsure of. "Do you know how dumb that sounds?"

"I don't," he replied, unable to sense her or even understand his own emotions. "It's just..."

"Just because I'm in love with you doesn't mean you all of a sudden..."

And there it was. Insult. Anger. Fire. It hurt. "Stop it," he growled. Looking her in the eyes again. Forcing her to see him. "This has NOTHING to do with protection. I don't think for a second that I have to protect you. You have more training in that kind of thing than I ever could have...."

"Then what is it, Chris? What is it?"

"Trust," he replied, fighting the shock and questions that came from her direction. The ones she verbalized just as much as the ones she didn't. "I want you to know that I trust you. Enough to throw my silly fears aside enough to put my life in your hands."

He couldn't feel the response she gave him, except for the fact that she was just...stunned. He smiled. "I told you," he murmured. "I wouldn't think myself even close to being able to protect you. You'd see me hiding behind you in a second..."

She grinned, and he felt her tension lessen. "You are definitely full of surprises, that's for sure." 

He nodded, smiling. Wrapping himself in her calm. "Yeah. You'll let me know when it gets boring, right?"

"Mmhm..." She lay against him and rested her cheek on his shoulder...

"You should be careful..."

A voice. Hostile feelings emanating from the speaker. Chris raised his head from Cass's shoulder and looked up into the brown eyes of Ed Tate. "Why," Chris replied, before noticing that Cass had responded to the question at the same time. 

"Cause you don't know what he's...."

"Ed!" The voice of Sloan Parker cut through the silence. Chris saw the fear in her eyes, the anger. And felt the emotions behind it. She was sick and tired after pursuing the same old argument more than once. "Stop it."

Ed turned towards Sloan, and Chris tried not to react to the emotions he felt coming from Ed. Distrust. Anger. "We don't know what they're..."

They. Chris couldn't hold himself back. "Look," he growled, spurred on by the feel of Cass's hand, tight against his shoulder. "Yes. Some of my species are dangerous. Some of us," he replied. "Have been trained to kill. But that doesn't mean that all of us are intrinsically evil." He sighed, laying against Cass. "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry for that. But I'm not stupid. I'm a scientist...a damm good one, if I do say so myself. My loyalty and love are both unquestionable. I may be impulsive, but I'm inexperienced. And..."

"He's a fraidy cat," chimed Cass. Playfulness, almost pride emanated from her. He couldn't be angry with her even if he wanted to be. "He's..."

"If I'm interrupting something, I'll leave." A new voice, tinged with an accent Chris couldn't identify broke into the discussion. Reaching deeper, amidst the laughter and the mixed emotions from everybody else in the room, Chris sensed a familiarity, an expectation of what the new person was meant to do there, though there were nerves. At a base level, Chris couldn't see the source of these nerves, but going deeper he saw that they were triggered by unfamiliarity. Of course. He mentally shook his head in understanding. The room was filled mostly with people this new person didn't know, including himself. All of a sudden, there was laughter that broke through to Chris in his sensing induced reverie. "There is somebody in Vancouver who is missing me," the stranger continued, "not to mention the business I left on my desk back home..." 

"You're not going anywhere, Gilad," shouted Sarah, an excitement in her voice wrapped up in a bit of teasing. Chris sensed an ease in both Sarah's and the stranger...now Gilad's mood. "We need your expertise..."

Cass clutched at his arm, somehow reminding him of her presence, though who knows how he possibly could have forgotten her scent, as he stared intently at the reunion between the two.... friends.

"Gilad Kesher," Cass whispered into his ear . "I met him about two years ago. Really solid guy. Good on his feet. A strategist, improvisational. Didn't see him up close," she continued, her voice cloaked in what Chris felt to be explanatory tones. "But I've heard he's who the best call in when they need back up."

Chris nodded in understanding as he caught Dave Forrester's glance from across the room. He didn't have to be able to sense emotions to be able to figure out what Forrester was saying. It was time to organize. 

  



	13. Thirteen: Sarah

Sarah had serious difficulty sitting still in preparation for the briefing. The conference room was where she'd said goodbye to Mitch before they left to go on that crazy mission. It wasn't crazy but it drove her crazy. And it made her sick with worry. She hated that. 

She looked up at the head of the table and saw Dave in a familiar position, hunched over the notes he'd most likely spent the last few hours scribbling on. Even when they were chatting in the lab, he was scribbling. She likened his habit to a form of stress relief, which, she decided after thinking for a moment, it most likely was.

Cass and Chris, she noted, were all adorable and tangled up in each other. She was happy for the both of them, considering how bad a break up Cass had been involved in the year before. And most likely, as far as she knew, Chris had the glow on his face she forever linked with first love. Definitely adorable. 

And of course, on the other side of the table were Sloan, Ed and her Uncle Walter. Sloan was pale, her dark hair and light eyes standing out more against the whiteness of fear. Ed had his hand on her shoulder, and Sarah could see the redness of his knuckles, as if he was holding on to her for dear life. His dark eyes were tight, and even from across the table, Sarah could see the from the expression on Ed's face that it wasn't his nerves that drove him to hold Sloan so tightly. 

The realization that Sloan was, most likely, so nervous that Ed had to physically hold her up to keep her from toppling over made Sarah's stomach twist. Sarah was steeling herself, trying not to loose her mind. She knew that if she gave herself the luxury of falling apart, she wouldn't be able to get through these next few hours, something that everybody most likely would judge as critical.

"You can't hide," whispered a soft voice tinged with an accent. She felt a familiar hand slide down her back, forcing her towards a shoulder. "Not from me at least."

Sarah couldn't help but grimace, not from Gilad's touch but from the fact that he could see right through her. "What if I want to," she muttered under her breath.

He nodded, smiling. "Of course you do," he replied, a grin on his face. "But it's impossible."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know." She felt so stupid, helpless. Heartsick. "I..."

"It wouldn't be you if you weren't affected by this...you wouldn't be..." He laughed and shook his head, confusion coloring his features for some reason Sarah couldn't pick out. "You know," he continued, changing his tone and arching an eyebrow. "Any other day I'd be able to finish the expression but now." He shook his head and winked at Chris, who in Sarah's view, understood what Gilad was getting at. "But now I'm not so..."

"Alright everybody," came the ever efficient voice of Uncle Walter. "Let's settle down."

Dave raised his eyebrows. From the look on his face, Sarah could tell that he was less than thrilled at Walter's apparent attempted coup. "Have we gotten the additional information that I'd asked for? Or have you found information that eliminates the need for it?" His tone was menacing and seemed to give Walter no breathing room. Which, of course was his point. Sarah was glad that it was Walter who was on the receiving end of Dave's most likely icy stare as opposed to she. Or her, whichever it was.

Uncle Walter shook his head slowly, his dark eyes fixed on Dave. Sarah was glad she didn't have to deal with him either. "No," he replied slowly. "No Sir," he corrected with apparent difficulty. "But I thought...."

"We cannot plan further," Dave interjected. "Until we have the information. Or..."

"Sir," interrupted Charlie Parker as he entered into the room. The current Naval representative to MACC held a post based in technology, and from what Sarah remembered hearing, the guy was a wiz. "The photographs," he intoned, dropping a brown paper envelope onto the table in front of Dave. "And the AIO briefing..."  


Dave smiled and opened the envelope as Charlie took a seat by the wall. Sarah felt Gilad's eyes on hers as they both strained to see the photographs as they were emptied out onto the table. Of course, Dave raised an eyebrow and Sarah felt herself smiling.

"Better than I thought," Sarah heard Dave muttering before he shook his head. "Right." He swallowed. "We've got photographic confirmation of the location where Carmen, Mike, and now Mitch and Tom are being held."

"Where?" Sarah burst out before she knew she was saying anything. "Where are they....."

"In a fortress built into the side of Volcan Tacan, the highest summit in the midst of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range..."

Sarah felt her stomach twist yet again, and saw Chris's features pale out of the corner of her eye at Dave's pronouncement. "A volcano?" she made out. And swallowed. "I hope it's not an ACTIVE volcano..."  


"And," she heard Chris mutter. "How high are you talking about?"

Dave rolled his eyes and winked. "To answer both of your questions in one shot," he began, as he shuffled papers. "Tacan is an active volcano, peaking out at bit over 13 thousand feet."

Only Mitch, Sarah thought to herself as she heard Chris groan. 

"So why Mexico," interjected Gilad, breaking the silence, laden as it was, at least in Sarah's view, in serious tension. "What's so..."

"It's said that Oaxaca is the origin of the new species," Ed began slowly. Sarah looked up and met his eyes, nodding. "Lewis ..."

Chris looked up, and for the first time in a while, Sarah could see that his face was free of fear. But she felt somewhat nervous because it seemed to her that the fear had been replaced by anger. "From what I know, and it's not that much," he began. "This fortress was meant to be his hideaway...his shelter from where he'd catalyze the events that were supposed to happen this past October..."

Sloan nodded, an energy coloring her face unlike any Sarah had seen since the beginning of this adventure. "Hence the necessity for a volcano."

Gilad sat back in his chair, folding his hands and nodding. "And from all reports," he interjected, thoughtfully. " Tacan didn't ...explode in October like it was supposed to... so I guess what he...was waiting for didn't happen?"

A thoughtful nod from Chris. "Again," he began, hesitantly in Sarah's view. "I don't know much because I've been rogue from the scientific community for a few years now," he continued with a look to Ed, Sloan and Walter. "But the last I knew of things, a team was building this headquarters, using instructions laid out many years ago, apparently by the ancients. The doomsday event was supposed to happen, harnessing the power of the volcano...."

"The background is nice," Cass interrupted, somewhat of a nervous tinge in her voice. "And it's fantastic that you're confirming the existence of this facility and why you're definitely coming with the party that goes, Chris," she swallowed, grabbing his hand. "However, we've got a situation on our hands. If we don't move...innocent..." 

"Moving without thinking is stupid," Gilad interrupted, turning his eyes on Cass. "We need to know this information so we know what we're up against." He turned to Dave, and Sarah swallowed, wondering what exactly was going to happen once he opened his mouth again. "You called me in for a reason. Are we talking strategy or...and for that matter, what do the briefing papers say?"

Dave laughed. "You haven't changed a bit," he made out, winking at Gilad.

Gilad shrugged his shoulders. "What did you expect?" He grinned. " That I should be any different after finding myself attached to a future Canadian attorney?"

Sarah smiled at the passing reference Gilad made to the fact that he'd been dating her friend Ari for the past few years. She and Ari were heading into the halfway point of their law school careers, Sarah in California ; Ari in Vancouver. 

"True," Dave interjected, laughing. Sarah could see the sarcastic reply he had decided to hold back as it flashed in his eyes. "The prisoners are being held in a specially designed cell in the middle of the complex...fortress."

"By specially designed," Gilad began, raising his eyebrows. "Do you mean..."

"I mean," Dave replied, thoughtfully. Sarah swallowed as she took a brief look around the table, partially to see if everybody else was still there. Ed, Sloan and Walter were all sitting there in a stunned silence. Their eyes were fixed on Dave's forehead, not seeming to move one inch. 

"The cell is fortified with an electromagnetic pulse," Dave continued, breaking Sarah out of her thoughtful reverie and causing her to gasp. "The emp...."

"Holy crap he's paralyzed," she exclaimed before she realized she'd done so. "And..." 

"Which means," Ed interjected. "The first thing we have to do..."

"Is find a way to destablilze the emp," Chris interrupted, almost seeming to Sarah as if he were thinking aloud. "I read somewhere that you can create a metallic shield to cover..."

"Do the photographs you have give blueprints of the facility?" Inquired Gilad, his back seeming to straighten as if it were pulled from the ceiling. "Including the dimensions of the cell and the location of the device..."

  
"And it's dimensions," Chris interjected, a smile in Gilad's direction. "A metallic shield, from what I read, " he continued, his cheeks flushing, his eyes briefly closing. "Must cover the device that's emitting the pulse completely, or there will be absolutely no chance of it working at all...." 

Dave smirked as he flipped through a set of white stapled pages, highlighting as he moved through the information. "The photographs don't show it but the briefing papers give us a pretty good idea of what we're up against. Details of all sorts..."

"Including the location of the landing strip, the size of the area, and the number of entrances and exits..." Sarah saw Cass bite her tongue in anticipation. "I'm not flying people into a trap, right?"

Dave shook his head. "No trap. I actually," he confessed. "Didn't expect AIO...the academy information organization, to turn up very much on this. From what I've heard from various sources," he continued, gesturing at her uncle in a way that told Sarah they'd been talking. "I got the feeling that they keep their information very very close at hand, very tight. But somehow there's a leak of some sort..."

"I guess," Ed interjected. "They don't expect to be invaded."

"They underestimate what they don't understand," Chris noted. "And I don't think they understand what they got themselves into this time."


End file.
